Avoiding the swamp

I sit in Swamp Central, USA, at my newspaper.

To my right: "I have nothing, no family, no wife, no kids. What will I do if I get laid off. My dogs are getting too old to hike."

To my left-rear: "Oh kiddo, let me tell you something about how newspapers used to be."

Behind me: "Honey, you're still young. You can go back to school for another degree. You have to be looking into that."

It's hard to keep my chin up at work and stay focused. I find myself checking requirements for nursing school while waiting for my stories to get edited.

After spending a week at the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute my attitude has changed. I'm recharged and ready to go back.

This time, I'm going to get out of the office as much as possible -- with a video camera.

After five days of working with Val Hoeppner and Anne Medley of the Freedom Forum Diversity Institute’s multimedia team, and Danese Kenon of the Indianapolis Star, in "Multimedia Boot Camp: Bet-you-wish-you-didn't-go-out-last-night," I have learned more than a semester of video class in college and a semester of small videos for the local paper.

I say that I'm excited to hit the ground running with video when I get back, but without a plan and attainable goals, I won't be producing any videos at all.

My plan is to spend my Fridays shooting and editing, get in with the photo crew, offer my audio skills for any big event that multiple photographers are sent out on.

I'm going to start Sunday with Cardinals fan reaction.

Turn the Kaleidoscope

Mediocrity is the devil.

Working in a bureau, I'm expected to churn out daily stories, briefs and photo ideas to feed the beast that is the community section.

I won’t lie. They're mostly dull.

In less than an hour with Mary Ann Hogan, Chips Quinn Scholars career coach, I learned to 'turn the kaleidoscope' to find the most compelling daily story while gathering string on an enterprise story.

City council meetings? Punch 'em out in 15 minutes to get to the goods.
Briefs? Fall into an efficient routine and get faster.

Throwing around story ideas in Hogan’s small group, I shared an idea I have been interested in for a while. We turned the kaleidoscope. Mary Ann called it a national story.

I learned that with the push of my career coach and the collective brains of my peers, a seemingly routine story idea can be elevated to an A1 centerpiece.

Mary Ann doesn't know this yet, but I will be hitting her up for feedback as I progress with this story. You too, Group.

For the first time since I've entered the real world, I've truly learned the value of taking advantage of the resources I have.

New energy

Almost all of the journalists I am close friends with have gone through the Chips Quinn Scholars program and have encouraged me to apply. I first heard about the program during my freshman year at the Daily Texan, UT's student newspaper. Going through journalism school and various internships over four years, I kept hearing about how the CQS program changed my friends' lives. That attitude truly set the bar for the coming week, but I have no doubt that the high expectations that have been unintentionally set for me will be met.

I hope that this program will boost my enthusiasm about journalism, especially since buyouts, layoffs and now furloughs have chipped away at the morale in my newsroom.
Along with my newfound journalism energy, I expect to take back with me the multimedia skills I need to stay afloat in this economy and state of the industry.